This past year has been incredible, a year like no other. It has been a year of changes and adventure and dreams come true. The best part is that its not over - new exciting things are still happening everyday. Here is a little summary of whats been going on:
A year ago I was working as a nanny in northern California. Last November I packed up all of my things and my dog Rascal, and we made the long drive to Minnesota where I'm from. I stored my stuff away and left my dog in my mom's care. Then, after celebrating Thanksgiving, cashing in a free flight to do a trip to explore Atlanta and New Orleans, and celebrating Christmas, I left for my Grand Adventure on January 1st, 2009.
For the next 7 months I traveled in Africa and Europe visiting and volunteering at bases with the purpose of discovering the next step for my life.
Where was I? Here's the list:
Mali, Cameroon, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, France, Switzerland, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. I could add Morocco, Ethiopia, United Arab Emirates, Monaco, and the Vatican, but I don't know if those count because I was either just there in the airport, or they are tiny and kind of part of another place.
Anyway, after these amazing and life-changing 7 months, I arrived back in Minnesota at the end of July. Since then I have been preparing to go back to Mali, West Africa, where I will be living on a base and helping at their elementary school there. I will leave on October 5th to begin this new chapter of this very exciting time of my life.
